Chilmark will choose new selectman
On April 28, Chilmark voters will go to the poles to choose a replacement for Alex Preston, who has decided not to seek a fourth term on the Chilmark board of selectmen. The candidates are Mary Murphy Boyd, 25, a teacher at the West Tisbury School, and J.B. Riggs Parker, 70, a retired corporate lawyer and money manager.
Ms. Boyd is the daughter of Chilmark commercial fisherman Chris Murphy and Vineyard schoolteacher Barbara Murphy, and she is the granddaughter of Chilmark painter Stan Murphy. Ms. Boyd attended the Menemsha School and graduated from MVRHS in 1996. A 2000 graduate of Smith College, she is at work on a masters in education. An EMT with the tri-town ambulance since 1996, she is now an assistant coordinator. She describes herself as "Island through and through," and says that she didn't have the urge to get away that some of her peers had.
Ms. Boyd told The Times that her philosophy of town government is, "Set up the framework and then get out of people's way."
Mr. Parker has also made a choice to live on Martha's Vineyard, moving here in mid-career "to raise my children in a simpler, more rural setting." Five of his children attended the Menemsha School, and seven were graduated from MVRHS.
Mr. Parker graduated from Princeton and, after two years in the army during the Korean War, the University of Virginia law school, where he was editor of the law review. Living in Philadelphia, he specialized in corporate and securities law and later was head of administration of a money management firm and president of a mutual fund. Moving to Chilmark in 1974, he became active in town affairs, serving on the planning board, writing some of the zoning bylaws and working with the Martha's Vineyard Commission. He also served a stint as the Vineyard member of the Steamship Authority.
Mr. Parker told The Times that his philosophy is that government should serve the people with the least amount of interference in their lives, and that the processes of government should be open to public inspection: "Keep it simple - keep it open," he said.
The Times asked both candidates the same three questions.
Is Chilmark in danger of turning into a community for only wealthy residents? If so, what should be done to make housing more affordable for young persons and middle-income persons?
Mr. Parker said that affordable housing is a problem and added that all of Martha's Vineyard is in the same danger. However, he added, "Chilmark, contrary to popular characterization, is not populated primarily by 'the wealthy.' This is not to say that we do not have some wealthy residents. We do, and they pay a large portion of our taxes. Ironically, this is significant to the affordable housing dilemma." Mr. Parker went on to explain that young people can afford to carry higher mortgage payments here because taxes are lower. Seniors on fixed incomes also depend on taxes staying low. "If we were to edge out those who depend on lower taxes, Chilmark would be yet more open only to the wealthy."
Mr. Parker, the author of the 1975 youth lot bylaw in Chilmark, said that there is no silver bullet for affordable housing. He praised the current effort to focus on perpetually affordable housing and pointed to several programs: the resident homesite bylaw, rental supplements, rental conversion and mortgage assistance programs, and the possibility of rental housing on town land.
Ms. Boyd, the owner (with her husband) of one of Chilmark's youth lots, also feels that affordable housing is an important issue and agreed that a multiple approach is needed. She singled out the affordable housing committee for "really great work." She also pointed to the resident homesite bylaw and mentioned the possibilities of subsidized rentals, cluster housing, and cooperative housing. In particular, she expressed an interest in the Middle Line Path project, 20 acres of town land near the about-to-be-capped dump. Once the problem of underlying clay rights is settled, the land holds promise for affordable housing, she said.
"There isn't one answer to the problem," she concluded, and added that her own experiences in the youth lot program give her an understanding of what young families face.
Chilmark faces a series of "Proposition 2.5" override questions. What can be done to keep down the cost of town government?
Ms. Boyd conceded that there are a large number of override questions on this year's ballot, but she does not think that any of them are frivolous or unnecessary. She commented, "It's unfortunate when many 'next steps' all happen at once."
"Chilmark as a whole has a fiscally sound town government," she said and particularly singled out the finance committee for "an excellent job." She does not believe it makes sense to try to squeeze town budgets by micromanaging individual town employees. "People do their best work when there's a certain amount of trust," she said. However, she does think that the town can streamline its government. "We should look at the job descriptions as a whole to make sure there's no duplication, no waste."
Mr. Parker explained that there are built-in core costs of town government that are not optional. "With respect to regulations and complexity," he explained, "many of the demands on Chilmark's town government are parallel to those of a large city." However, he also thinks the town should work to "reduce inefficiencies."
As an example, Mr. Parker said, "We should draw up a long-range capital spending plan which coordinates resources to serve multiple needs." Rather than reacting to capital demands, Mr. Parker thinks the town should anticipate them to avoid the necessity for temporary facilities and bidding on a crowded time schedule. "Crisis to crisis is not a capital plan," he concluded.
The costs of the Chilmark School threaten to break apart the Up-Island Regional School District. What should be done to solve this dispute?
Mr. Parker is strongly in favor of keeping the Chilmark School. "I believe having a school in town keeps the town alive," he said. He believes that John Early's proposal at the West Tisbury town meeting makes good sense - to name a committee to hire an independent consultant to find out the facts and report - and he hopes that Chilmark and Aquinnah will accept Mr. Early's approach.
Ms. Boyd also thinks that Mr. Early's plan is a good idea. She agrees that having a school keeps young parents in town. She added that staying in the district is good for the town and good for the children. "The issue of cost-allocation should not overshadow the overarching goal, to have the best education we can have for our kids."
Ms. Boyd suggested that the Chilmark School may be able to cut costs and increase revenue. As an example of the latter, she mentioned a suggestion that the school might lease space for a paying pre-school, which might have the added benefit of being a feeder program for kindergarten the following year.
Chilmark voters will choose between Mr. Parker and Ms. Boyd at the Chilmark Community Center on Wednesday, April 28, between noon and 8 pm.
